Language Guide: Brazilian Portuguese

You may find this shocking, but Brazilians do not speak Spanish (or Brazilian).

The Brazilian people of Brazil speak (Brazilian) Portuguese.

The following is a very rough guide to the Portuguese language. My phonetic spellings are crude, and my explanations are basic, but it should be adequate to get your gringo ass in working order come caipirinha time.

FOR THE BASICS

Hello – Oi/Olá (oh-LAH)

Goodbye – Tchau (chow)

Yes – Sim (seem)

No – Não (now)

Foreigner (non-Brazilian person) – Gringo

The bathroom – O banheiro (ooh ban-yeh-rho)

Fuck! – Porra! (poe-ha)

Shit! – Caralho! (caw-raw-lho)

Good morning – Bom dia (bome gee-ah)

Good afternoon – Boa tarde (bo-ah tar-gee)

Good evening – Boa noite (bo-ah noi-chee)

Please – Por favor (pour fah-vor)

Thank you – Obrigado/a (oh-bree-gah-doh/dah) – “o” if the speaker is male, “a” if female

You're welcome – De nada (gee nah-dah)

Excuse me – Com licença (lee-sen-sah)

Sorry – Desculpa (des-cool-pa)

Brazil – O Brasil

FOR THE EATING

Restaurant – Restaurante (res-tau-rantch-ee)

Menu – Cardápio (car-dap-e-oh)

The check – A conta (ah con-ta)

Recommendation – Recomendação (heh-co-men-da-sow)

A beer – Uma cerveja

Water – Água (ah-gua)

Chicken – Frango (frahn-go)

Beef – Carne (car-knee)

Kitten – Gatinho (gah-cheen-yo)

Pork – Porco (por-ko)

Fish – Peixe (pay-she)

Vegetarian – Vegetariano

Cheers! – Saúde! (sow-OOH-gee)

FOR THE USEFUL PHRASES

I don't understand. – Não entendo.

I don't speak Portuguese. – Não falo português.

I don't know. – Não sei.

I prefer to be naked. – Eu prefiro estar nu.

Your hair is ugly today. – Seu cabelo está feio hoje.

It's a trap! – É uma armadilha!

FOR THE TRANSPORTATION

The hotel – O hotel

The hostel – O hostel

Car – Carro (car-hoe)

Taxi – Táxi

Bus – Ônibus (oon-nee-boos)

Subway – Metrô

Donkey – Burro (boo-ho)

Bus station – Rodoviária (hoe-doe-vee-ARE-ee-uh)

Airport – Aeroporto

Left – Esquerda

Right – Direita (gee-ray-tah)

FOR THE QUESTIONS

Who? – Quem?

What? – O que?

Where? – Onde? (own-gee)

Where is…? – Onde está…?

When? – Quando?

Why? – Por quê?

How? – Como?

Do you speak English? – Fala inglês? (fah-la in-glays?)

Did you fart? – Você peidou? (pay-dey-oo)

How are you? – Tudo bem?

How much is…? – Quanto é…?

Where is…? – Onde fica…?

I want… – Eu quero (eh-yo que-ro)

FOR THE NUMBERS

One – Um/uma

Two – Dois/duas

Three – Três

Four – Quatro

Five – Cinco (sink-o)

Six – Seis

Seven – Sete (seh-chee)

Eight – Oito (oi-toe)

Nine – Nove (no-vee)

Ten – Dez

Twenty – Vinte (vin-chee)

Thirty – Trinta

Forty – Quarenta

Fifty – Cinquenta (sink-en-tah)

One hundred – Cem (sen)

Going to be needing some Brazilian Portuguese in the future? Don't know how to say something? Think something else should be added to this list?